Miscellaneous Facebook posts & comments in March 2021

When author of post or comment is not mentioned, it should be assumed that it is me (Ravi S. Iyer).

To save time, I am usually not providing my FB post links but only contents. I am also not hyperlinking links. So readers will have to copy-paste links from this post onto a browser link box and then browse to that link.

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1958 Hindi film hit song: Haal Kaisa Hai Janaab Ka | Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi Songs | Kishore Kumar | Madhubala | Filmigaane, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bFPDaDoruTY, 4 min. 26 secs, singers are Kishore Kumar (also on screen) and Asha Bhosle (on screen star - Madhubala).

...

Haal Kaisa Hai Janaab Ka; Asha Bhosle singing the 'golden' melody again with an ardent fan, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nhqoGkNKm5g, 4 min. 35 secs, published on 18th Dec. 2013.

Asha Bhosle singing it live perhaps sometime around 2013 (video is published then). The original song would have been recorded in 1958 or a year or two earlier as the movie was released then. Asha Bhosle was born in 1933 as per https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asha_Bhosle, and wo would have been around 25 when the original song was recorded. In 2013 she was 80! Even if the video was recorded a few years earlier than 2013, that Asha Bhosle was able to do such a great live rendition at such an advanced age, is mind-blowing.

Thanks to Mr. Dinesh Shahra to get Asha Bhosle madam to sing this song and then share the video (Shahra plays the male singer part in the video). And many, many thanks to Asha Bhosleji for being so sporting to participate in the song and allow the video to be shared on youtube.

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Kishor Desai playing 'Yeh Raat Bhigi Bhigi' from film 'Chori Chori', https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MoSMalSJ4xw, 4 min. 33 secs, published in 2018.

The original song-video from 1956 movie. Singers are Manna Dey and Lata Mangeshkar. On-screen stars are Raj Kapoor and Nargis: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f1DZxkiMjRo, around 4 mins.

Nice live rendition, video published in 2018: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vNbrjQEfpWI

Lovely live rendition, video published in 2015: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k9Ceu6-_o5U

Has an elderly Manna Dey singing it live with a young lady: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KWV8T5MdTho

Audio with still pic as video: Yeh Raat Bheegi Bheegi | Lata Mangeshkar Live With Hariharan At Alexandra Palace England In 1988, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nBTnFJYC6h0

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He is Saurav Kishen from Kozhikode, Kerala, referred to as "Chhota Rafi".
Shared FB post: https://www.facebook.com/pavankumar.galgalikar/posts/5541336465884246 
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On non-public FB post which shared this public post: https://www.facebook.com/erlene.king/posts/10217394200954403 (history of hatred of others in US society), I wrote: Such is life! Thanks for sharing as I think it is through knowing such history (India has its share of such sad history) that better progress towards a more egalitarian society can be achieved.
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Suez Canal reopens after giant stranded ship is freed - BBC News, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5d0en1ow_pQ, 4 min. 18 secs.
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[FB post: https://www.facebook.com/ravi.s.iyer.7/posts/3094879710728585 ]
A Masala Dosa life, not a Plain Dosa life!

In response to a recent private comment by a correspondent about my interests, as reflected in my public posts, seeming to be varied, I wrote (slightly edited): "My life has been a varied life 🤪 - a Masala Dosa life, not a Plain Dosa life 😜".

For those readers who don't know about Masala Dosa, here's its wiki page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masala_dosa and here's the (Plain) Dosa wiki page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dosa .

Pic courtesy  Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Dosai_Chutney_Hotel_Saravana_Bhavan.jpg

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Enjoyed these comments (in Hindi/Urdu) from Pakistani cricketing great and nice guy, Inzammam ul Haq on recent India-England matches. He seems to have made a small mistake towards the end of the video where he talks of 2 more matches in the series but I think the series is over now.

Haq speaks in a straight-forward way using simple Hindi/Urdu that I have often heard in my Mumbai/Dombivli days when there would be discussions on cricket (from around 2 min. 10 secs about Virat Kohli dismissal, 'Moeen Ali ne off stump se bahar baal pheki aur vo cut maarne ke liye gaya aur uska leg stump ud gaya' 😀). I enjoyed that very much.

Good effort by Sam Curran but not enough! | Indian Team Looking Strong in All Formats, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wo2BRG7t1V8, 10 min. 30 secs.

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TV version Shane (1966): Shane - An Echo of Anger (S01E04) (1966) with Warren Oates, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ebKTF1rXyrg, 51 min. 19 secs.

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Got Julio Ribeiro's book which I had ordered a few days back at https://www.amazon.in/gp/product/8187520965 . Flipped through the book to get a top-level view of its contents and it seems to have lot of material that I could relate to, about Maharashtra state where I was living when Julio Ribeiro was serving there as a police officer, and about India in general. Attached are pics of its front and back cover pages.

I don't know when I will get around to reading it as I already am reading other books. Hopefully it will be in the not-too-distant future.

28th Mar. 2021 update: Strangely the book's sale page on amazon does not have its Table of Contents. Took a pic (attached to this post) of those pages which may help readers get a better idea of its contents.

Ribeiro became famous in Mumbai and surrounding areas as a super-cop (1982 to 86, Mumbai police commissioner, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julio_Ribeiro_(police_officer)). For a youngster like me who became a young adult in 1980 and was living in Mumbai and surrounding areas in this period, people like Ribeiro were outstanding heroes and gave moral strength to middle class law abiding citizens. Later, if I got it correctly, he went to Punjab but by that time I think I had started my software development foreign assignment stints and so did not get to know so much about what he did then.

[FB post: https://www.facebook.com/ravi.s.iyer.7/posts/3093643457518877 has 3 pics.]

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Ex-CDC (USA) boss believes Covid-19 virus came from China lab, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f0_RhfT21bw, 10 min. 3 secs, published by CNN on 26th Mar. 2021.

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Iceland Volcano Eruption - 21.03.2021, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KwGReC3_2C0, 6 min. 8 secs.

Iceland volcano: Drone footage captures stunning up-close view of eruption, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9Hq6bTBF2A, 3 min. 16 secs, published on 24th March 2021.

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I have enjoyed some of these Belgian waffles in the past 🙂

[FB post https://www.facebook.com/ravi.s.iyer.7/posts/3092151607668062 shares Embassy of Belgium in New Delhi's post on "Happy Waffles Day!"]

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Very sweet oldie goldie Hindi film song - Bahut Shukriya Badi Meherbani sung by Mohammed Rafi and Asha Bhosle from the 1962 movie 'Ek Musafir Ek Hasina' , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ek_Musafir_Ek_Hasina . On screen stars are Joy Mukharjee and Sadhana. Video is black & white: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2aSBlqu8sk , 5 min. 24 secs.

I have heard this song so many times in my teens & young adult days on the radio. Thanks to youtube I was able to see the video today. I thoroughly enjoyed it - made my day🙂.

Nice 2018 live orchestra rendition - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z0PNmUVVCV0

Nice 2017 live orchestra rendition - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tkKGIOUVxyk

Enjoyable 2016 live orchestra rendition - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4VeE_n3lPDw

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[In Telugu] Dr. Nagaraju Naik's message about COVID vaccination for general public in Puttaparthi (my understanding which could have some mistakes: above 45 yrs (or perhaps) above 60 yrs, those with pre-existing diseases). I believe Dr. Nagaraju Naik is in charge of Primary Health Centre, Yenumulapalli which is the key govt. health centre with respect to COVID pandemic for Puttaparthi area including outside ashram Puttaparthi town.

[FB post: https://www.facebook.com/ravi.s.iyer.7/posts/3091540244395865 shares the video.]

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6 second video. Good to see this. Thanks to --name-snipped-- for sharing and thanks to DSP garu (top police officer for Puttaparthi town) for publicly sharing that he took his COVID vaccine shot (I think at Primary Health Care centre, Yenumulapalli). Yenumulapalli is just a few kms from Puttaparthi town and the Primary Health Care centre there is the main govt. facility with respect to COVID pandemic for outside ashram Puttaparthi town.

[FB post: https://www.facebook.com/ravi.s.iyer.7/posts/3091417737741449 shares the video.]

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UK remembers Covid dead as Boris Johnson admits mistakes in dealing with pandemic - BBC News, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=60og05aCA_M, 11 min. 26 secs., published on 24th March 2021.

UK PM Boris Johnson says at around 01:27 into the video: "When I asked you to go into lockdown exactly a year ago, It seemed incredible that in the 21st century this was the only way to fight a new respiratory disease. This was unlike any other struggle in my lifetime in that our entire population has been engaged and it's thanks to all of you therefore that we can continue on our road map to freedom."

I think PM Johnson articulates well an experience that has been common to many nations across the world in this COVID pandemic. India went on official lockdown on 25th March 2020 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COVID-19_lockdown_in_India .

Here's an article on this period of a year after initial official lockdown in India started (the title is somewhat misleading as India has not officially been in lockdown for a year): One year of lockdown: How country was halted due to Covid-19, https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/one-year-of-lockdown-how-country-was-halted-due-to-covid19-101616552231851.html , 24th March 2021.

A couple of small extracts from the above article: 

Lockdown meant the entire country stopped. Offices were closed, transport services halted and flights grounded. The unprecedented measure sought to break the chain of infection and stop the further spread of the coronavirus disease.

...

When the lockdown was first announced, the country had only 500 cases and around 50 people had died due to Covid-19. Today, the infection tally has risen to 11.68 million, according to the Union health ministry figures. The death toll has reached 160,166.

--- end extracts ---

Back to the BBC video link shared above. The ending part of the video has the words of BBC medical editor Ferguson (from around 10:13)

A year ago we didn't know that one in three people with COVID have no symptoms and that knowledge has informed a lot of public policy like the wearing of face masks. A year ago community testing had been abandoned. There was only capacity to do 10,000 COVID tests a day. Now we can do over a million tests a day - much easier to keep track of outbreaks. The game changer has been vaccines, not one but several highly effective vaccines. Now we don't know how long vaccine protection is going to last. It's only 11 months since the first trial started in Europe. They will wane at some point. Then there's this issue of virus mutation. So far it looks like the current vaccines will protect against severe disease from the virus variants but may not stop infection. So we may need booster vaccines in the autumn but scientists are working on those. What's clear is coronavirus is here to stay and we will see outbreaks like we do with flu but flu doesn't stop society and now it is vaccination which is the route out of the pandemic here in the UK but that also means immunizing Europe and the world.

--- end Ferguson quote ---

[I thank BBC News and Hindustan Times, and have presumed that they will not have any objections to me sharing the above small extract(s)/transcript snippets from their video/website on this post which is freely viewable by all, and does not have any financial profit motive whatsoever.]

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Unbelievable Footage Shows Cow Asking Man To Save Calf, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bp3Y_ccHKeA , 3 min. 16 secs.

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Great to see the first African-American US defense secretary (who is a former US armed forces general) being given guard of honour in India, during his recent visit. The commentary is in Hindi and in the initial part of the video, the key persons are obscured by some flag/symbol board.

Full: US Secretary of Defence Lloyd James Austin receives guard of honour at Vigyan Bhawan, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JIHO_shCq00, 5 min. 30 secs.

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Julio Ribeiro, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julio_Ribeiro_(police_officer), is the hero police boss of Mumbai/Bombay of my days - he later played a big role at the national police levels too. I think Ribeiro is an outstanding public servant of Mumbai and India.

I don't think he is politically aligned to any party. So I think this is a politically-neutral article and so I am sharing it (I am publicly politically neutral in Indian politics).

With Sachin Vaze’s arrest, a warning about glorifying ‘encounter specialists’ authored by Julio Ribeiro, https://scroll.in/.../julio-ribeiro-with-sachin-vazes..., 19th March 2021.

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(1970) Rio Lobo | WESTERN Movie | John Wayne | Full Length | HD | Free Cowboy Film, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7WK3nQn8F5g, close to 2 hours.

The initial part of the movie seems quite realistic. Later parts seem a little too contrived.

But overall it is a movie worth watching if one is into these kind of movies.

I liked the theme of the Union army Col. played by John Wayne, after the war got over, not having anything against Confederate captain and his men who, while stealing Union army payroll money, did stuff (dropped hornet hive into the railway wagon) that eventually resulted in death of the Colonel's friend and junior Lt. Ned Forsythe, as that was war. But the Colonel wanted to punish those of the Union army who informed the confederates about the payroll train(s). I should also mention that the Colonel got the Confederate captain and his men captured after the money was robbed.

The relevant dialogue from the transcript (this is just after the war is over and confederate captain and his sergeant who were prisoners of the Union army, are released):

At 33:56 [Confederate captain (after the war):] Colonel, I think I know why you want to see us.

[Confederate sergeant:] I take it you haven't found the fellow who gave us the information about your gold shipments.

[Union Colonel (played by John Wayne):] Who sold you the information about our gold shipments. No, I haven't. But I will.

[Confederate sergeant:] You make it sound like it's something personal, colonel.

[Union Colonel:] Well, a boy that I watched grow up was in that car that you threw the hornets into.

[Confederate captain:] Was he hurt bad?

[Union Colonel:] We buried him the next day.

[Confederate captain:] I'm sorry.

[Confederate sergeant:] Colonel, we killed your friend, but you don't seem to hold that against us.

[Union Colonel:] Well, what you did was an act of war. But selling information, that's treason. Rotten treachery for money. I want the name of that man.

----

They don't know the names but give some rough description. And then the movie gets more complicated but eventually John Wayne gets the traitors (2 of them). The 2 traitors are killed.

The movie wikipedia page gives a lot of details about the plot and has some other info. as well: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rio_Lobo .

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Thoughtful straight-talking from Singapore PM Lee Hsien Loong - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xeXdfG-Nbpw, 9 min. 39 secs, published on 14th March 2021 by BBC News.

The youtube video title is somewhat inappropriate. Loong qualifies the words the title uses by saying that even now military conflict possibility is low (or very low) but that there is tension and if the tension rises between USA & China in future then the probability of military conflict increases (words to that effect; I have not given the exact quotes).

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Return to Warbow; Philip Carey, Catherine McLeod, 1958, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rpt2D_79HTA, 1 hr. 6 mins.

Quite an interesting story with jail breakout, supposed stashed robbery money, good guys, a kid whose father is actually a stage coach robber & escaped convict but which secret is not divulged to the kid though the robber & escaped convict initially does use the info. to blackmail his genetic mother and foster-father who the kid thinks is his real father, the super-good guy qualities of the foster-father ...

The character played by the robber & escaped convict is a complex one - some good traits mixed up with bad.

For me, the standout character in the movie is the super-good guy foster-father (screen name Murray played by Andrew Duggan).

Movie wiki page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Return_to_Warbow

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It is not safe to shelter under a tree when there is lightning. Graphic video of real incident tells us why (readers who prefer not to see disturbing videos should not view the video). The video has a 15 sec. ad. that has to be watched first by viewers who have not paid youtube to not be shown ads ( that includes me) 😕. On camera: Lightning hits tree in Gurugram (in North India), injures 4 who took shelter, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ReO5ghXqHYA, 1 min. 22 secs (video replays the shot many times), published on March 13th 2021 by Hindustan Times.

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This tweet video has made my day! "King" Viv Richards, superstar of the West Indies cricket team (international cricket career period: 1974-1991) in my cricket fan days, thanking India on behalf of Antiguan and Barbadian people for COVID vaccine delivery.

https://twitter.com/DrSJaishankar/status/1370976396927934468, 34 seconds, 14th March 2021.

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1943 movie: Russell Hayden, Saddles & Sagebrush in HD with Bob Wills, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0hmifjJPjtI, 52 mins.

The movie is simplistic but then it is a 1940s film. However, the theme is interesting with wealthy & greedy guy using hired guns in an area which does not have a law officer (not progressed that far and so still very much Wild West) to drive off homesteaders and grab their land. The hero is the good guy gunslinger who eventually joins a homesteader and, assisted by his singing friends led by Bob Wills, defeats the bad wealthy guy and his goons.

There is music thrown in with the real-life band Texas Playboys acting in the movie along with singing some songs. The lead singer (and founder/co-founder) of the band - Bob Wills , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Wills#The_Texas_Playboys - had joined US armed forces in 1942 (USA joined WW2 in Dec. 1941 after Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor) but received a medical discharge in 1943.

So he seems to have acted in this film after his discharge from US armed forces.

Some of the lines in the movie about progress in the West (of USA) being actually made by honest & hardworking homesteaders rather than greedy and crooked wealthy men with hired gunslingers, are interesting from a good ideals point of view. Though I don't know the reality about who made the big contributions to progress in the West (of USA).

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Ratan Tata takes COVID vaccine - "Very thankful to have gotten my first vaccination shot today. It was effortless and painless. I truly hope everyone can be immunised and protected soon.",  https://twitter.com/RNTata2000/status/1370604087440338948 , 13th Mar. 2021

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In a non-public FB post about cold in bus stops in a city in USA in 2013, I wrote: Interesting!

Reminds me of me waiting for the bus near my customer-office in Brussels, Belgium in mid 1980s winter. It was a little better in that it was covered on two sides or maybe three sides. But for the wind that would cut like a knife in the freezing cold, the one or two open side(s) were enough!

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Hear Dr. Gupta's pandemic prediction from 1 year ago, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_9dJ-C1VdQ, 8 min. 41 secs, published on 9th March 2021 by CNN.

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Very tragic! 

Miscarriage of justice (mild words but I think that's how these things are called) can be terrible in India.

I don't know what happened in this case. But false charges of rape are not unknown in India.

[Shared article: Innocent man walks out of Agra jail after 20 years, https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/agra/innocent-man-in-jail-for-20-yrs-walks-free-as-fellow-inmates-cheer-says-first-hell-reclaim-honour/articleshow/81317111.cms ]

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Very interesting Steve Wozniak 2010 interview about early days of Apple and his praise for Steve Jobs' leadership

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R3OcY37GOAA, 1 hr. 1 min

The video is an hour long and is a 2010 interview but the video has a transcript. So one can look at the transcript and choose to listen to only parts that interest one. 

Wozniak praises Steve Jobs' leadership and so the video seems to be a very positive one when it comes to Steve Jobs part. Wozniak shares a lot of info. about how they started. 

Wozniak's wiki page - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Wozniak - is also very informative about early years of Wozniak and Apple.

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Great to see India-Brazil space ties grow strong

Amazonia-1 satellite launch high point in space ties, say India, Brazil, 

[Shared article: Amazonia-1 satellite launch high point in space ties, say India, Brazil, https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/satellite-launch-high-point-in-space-ties-say-india-brazil/article33956595.ece]

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PM Modi shows his trust in India's home-grown Covaxin COVID vaccine made by Bharat Biotech, by taking it instead of (foreign) Oxford Astra Zeneca created Covishield (that is manufactured by India's Serum Institute of India). I think this is what top-level leadership entails - to show trust in the institutions that you lead. It is not easy I think. I think it is no secret that many in India are opting for Oxford Astra Zeneca created Covishield. So PM Modi opting to take Covaxin is a huge statement, IMHO.

The tweet video showing PM Modi taking the shot: https://twitter.com/ANI/status/1366218209804705792 .

PM Narendra Modi takes Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin, allaying fears over Covid-19 vaccine’s efficacy,https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/india/pm-narendra-modi-takes-bharat-biotechs-covaxin-allaying-fears-over-covid-19-vaccines-efficacy-6586351.html, 1st March 2021 

A small extract from it: "Prime Minister Narendra Modi was administered Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin vaccine against Covid-19 on March 1, according to a video posted by news agency ANI. The Prime Minister took the vaccine despite apprehensions expressed by some experts about the jab’s efficacy, as it is still in the final stages of clinical trials.

Modi taking the indigenously-developed Covaxin dose is being seen as an attempt to allay fears over the vaccine’s efficacy."

[I thank moneycontrol.com and have presumed that they will not have any objections to me sharing the small above extract(s) from their website on this post which is freely viewable by all, and does not have any financial profit motive whatsoever.]

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